Jan Aushadhi to add 10,000 stores by '27

The scheme sold medicines worth ₹665 crore in FY21, which doubled in the next two years to ₹1,236 crore

- Jessica Jani

The government's affordable medicine scheme aims to add over 10,000 stores across the country in the next two years. Hamstrung by supply and quality problems, the Jan Aushadhi scheme started hitting its stride in the past two years, as the implementing agency sharpened its focus on fixing a lagging supply chain and addressing quality concerns.

Now, the focus is on ensuring that new stores will have enough drugs to cater to demand, and a concerted publicity push to bring in more footfalls, Ravi Dadhich, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI), which runs the scheme, said in an interview.

"When we increase the number of centres at the back-end, we have to ensure that sufficient quantities of medicines are available for this greater demand," he said.